Bruce Springsteen says Trump is ‘unfit’ and ‘incompetent’ in remarks during U.K. show.

Rock megastar Bruce Springsteen has made a series of critical remarks about U.S. President Donald Trump and the policies of his administration, calling the American leader “unfit” for office.

“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock n’ roll in dangerous times,” Springsteen said at the beginning of a concert in Manchester, northern England, on Wednesday.

“In my home, the America I love — the America I’ve written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years — is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” he said.

“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American spirit to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism,” added Springsteen.

The rock star spoke out several times during the show, later posting clips of his comments to his Instagram account.

“The last check on power, after the checks and balances of government have failed, are the people — you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values. Now that’s all that stands between democracy and authoritarianism. So at the end of the day, all we’ve really got is each other,” he continued.

He later criticized some of the U.S. administration’s most recent policies.

“In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now,” he said.

“In my country, they are taking sadistic pleasure in the pain that they inflict on loyal American workers, they’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that led to a more just and plural society,” he said.

“They’re abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They’re defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands. They’re removing residents off American streets, and without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now,” added Springsteen.

WASHINGTON/ISTANBUL — U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not attend what could be the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in three years on Thursday, the Kremlin sending instead a group of experienced technocrats.

Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday “without any preconditions.” Late on Wednesday, the Kremlin said the delegation would include presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin.

After the Kremlin’s delegation announcement, a U.S. official said Trump would not attend - days after saying that he was considering the trip.

While Putin had never confirmed he would attend in person, the absence of the Russian and U.S. presidents lowers the expectations for a major breakthrough in the war that Russia started in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had challenged the Kremlin leader to attend the talks “if he’s not afraid,” in an apparent contest to show Trump who wants peace more. Zelenskyy was on his way to Turkiye, a Ukrainian official said. Earlier, the Kyiv leader has said he would take part in the negotiations only if Putin were there.

Trump wants the two sides to sign up to a 30-day ceasefire to pause Europe’s biggest land war since World War Two, and a Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday there could also be discussions about a huge prisoner of war exchange.

Zelenskyy backs an immediate 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has said he first wants to start talks at which the details of such a ceasefire could be discussed.
More sanctions on Russia?

Trump, who is growing increasingly frustrated with both Russia and Ukraine as he tries to push them towards a peace settlement, said he was “always considering” secondary sanctions against Moscow if he thought it was blocking the process.

U.S. officials have spoken about possible financial sanctions as well as potential secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil.

A Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters on Wednesday that Ukraine’s leadership would decide on its next steps for peace talks in Turkey once there was clarity on Putin’s participation.

The U.S. delegation to Turkiye included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said early on Thursday he had met with Rubio to share Zelenskyy’s peace vision and “coordinate positions during this critical week.”

Medinsky and Fomin, part of the Russian delegation, took part in the last set of negotiations between the two sides in the first weeks of the war.

Direct talks between negotiators from Ukraine and Russia last took place in Istanbul in March 2022, a month after Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what he calls a “special military operation” to root out neo-Nazis.

Ukraine and its allies say the invasion was an unprovoked, imperial-style land grab.

Reporting by Steve Holland, Tom Balmforth, Ron Popeski, Lidia Kelly, Moscow and Kyiv bureaus; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Franklin Paul and Stephen Coates

#Pope meets Sinner: World No. 1 gives tennis fan Pope Leo XIV racket on Italian Open off-day.

The top-ranked tennis player visited the new pope on Wednesday, gave him a tennis racket and offered to play, during an off day for Sinner at the Italian Open.

Leo, the first American pope, is an avid tennis player and fan and had said earlier this week that he would be up for a charity match when it was suggested by a journalist.

But at the time, Leo joked “we can’t invite Sinner,” an apparent reference to the English meaning of Sinner’s last name.

By Wednesday, all seemed forgotten.

“It’s an honor,” Sinner said in Italian as he and his parents arrived in a reception room of the Vatican’s auditorium. Holding one of his rackets and giving Leo another and a ball, the three-time Grand Slam champion suggested a quick volley. But the pope looked around at the antiques and said, “Better not.”

Leo, a 69-year-old from Chicago, then appeared to joke about his white cassock and its appropriateness for Wimbledon, perhaps a reference to the All England Club’s all-white clothing rule.

He asked how the Italian Open was going. “Now I’m in the game,” Sinner said. “At the beginning of the tournament, it was a bit difficult.”

Sinner has a quarterfinal match on Thursday in his first tournament back after a three-month ban for doping that was judged to be an accidental contamination.

He will next face either freshly-crowned Madrid champion Casper Ruud or Jaume Munar. Sinner is attempting to become the first Italian man to win the Rome title since Adriano Panatta in 1976.

During the audience, Angelo Binaghi, the head of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, gave Leo an honorary federation card.

“We all felt the passion that Leo XIV has for our sport and this filled us with pride,” Binaghi said in a statement. “We hope to embrace the Holy Father again soon, maybe on a tennis court.”

The pope and Sinner posed for photos in front of the Davis Cup trophy that Sinner helped Italy win for the second consecutive time last year. Also on display in the room was the Billie Jean King Cup trophy won by Italy in 2024, the biggest women’s team event in tennis.

Earlier in the week, after Leo’s first quip about not wanting to invite him, Sinner said it was “a good thing for us tennis players” that the new pope likes to play the sport.

In addition to tennis, Leo is an avid Chicago White Sox baseball fan.

His predecessor, Pope Francis, was a lifelong fan of Buenos Aires soccer club San Lorenzo.

India disputes Trump’s claim that trade incentives led to the India-Pakistan ceasefire

#Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia as part of his first foreign tour — media
The US president is expected to meet with Saudi leaders on Tuesday and also take part in a Saudi-US investment forum.

US President Donald Trump has arrived in Saudi Arabia on his first state visit after taking the post of the head of state in January, Al Arabiya reported.

According to the channel, Trump's plane landed at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The US president is expected to meet with Saudi leaders on Tuesday and also take part in a Saudi-US investment forum.

Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates on May 13-16. Aside from a brief trip to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis in late April, this is the first full-fledged foreign tour by the US president since taking office on January 20. The US delegation includes State Secretary Marco Rubio, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, among others. During the trip, the delegation will focus on expanding investment cooperation with the Arabian monarchies and will also address defense and security issues, including those related to the settlement of conflicts in the Gaza Strip, Yemen, and Ukraine.

Russian troops liberated the community of Mirolyubovka in the Donetsk region over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"Battlegroup Center units liberated the settlement of Mirolyubovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic through decisive operations," the ministry said in a statement.
Kiev loses over 1,375 troops in all frontline areas in past day

The Ukrainian army lost more than 1,375 troops in battles with Russian forces in all the frontline areas over the past day, according to the latest data on the special military operation in Ukraine released by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

The latest figures show that the Ukrainian army lost over 195 troops and three tanks in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup North, more than 210 troops, a tank and three armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup West, over 290 troops and five armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup South, more than 470 troops and seven armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup Center, over 160 troops and two armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup East and more than 50 troops in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup Dnepr.
Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicts over 195 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicted more than 195 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed three enemy tanks in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup North units inflicted losses on massed manpower and equipment of a mechanized brigade, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian army and a territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Atinskoye, Ryzhevka, Pavlovka and Bessalovka in the Sumy Region," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost more than 195 personnel, three tanks, 15 motor vehicles and seven field artillery guns, including two US-made 155mm M777 howitzers in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed two electronic warfare stations of the Ukrainian army, it said.
Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicts over 210 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted more than 210 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy tank and three armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup West units improved their tactical position and inflicted losses on formations of three mechanized and two assault brigades of the Ukrainian army and a territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Monachinovka, Nechvolodovka and Kupyansk in the Kharkov Region, Kirovsk, Redkodub and Yampol in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost more than 210 personnel, a tank, three armored combat vehicles, including two US-made HMMWV armored vehicles, 13 motor vehicles and two artillery guns in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed two ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.
Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicts over 290 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicted more than 290 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed five enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup South units gained better lines and positions and inflicted losses on manpower and equipment of three mechanized brigades and an airmobile brigade of the Ukrainian army in areas near the settlements of Seversk, Serebryanka, Konstantinovka, Pleshcheyevka, Ilyinovka, Ivanopolye, Zarya and Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost more than 290 personnel, five armored combat vehicles, six motor vehicles and four field artillery guns in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed three electronic warfare stations and two ammunition depots of the Ukrainian army, it said.
Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicts over 470 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicted more than 470 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed seven enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

During the last 24-hour period, Battlegroup Center units "inflicted losses on formations of four mechanized brigades, a jaeger brigade and two assault brigades of the Ukrainian army, a marine infantry brigade and three National Guard brigades in areas near the settlements of Aleksandropol, Novoaleksandrovka, Ulyanovka, Novoolenovka, Novaya Poltavka, Petrovskoye, Dimitrov, Krasnoarmeysk and Novosergeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost more than 470 personnel, seven armored combat vehicles, including two US-made HMMWV armored vehicles, 15 motor vehicles and an artillery gun in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.
Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicts over 160 casualties on Ukrainian army in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup East inflicted more than 160 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed two enemy armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup East units kept advancing deep into the enemy’s defenses and inflicted losses on manpower and equipment of three mechanized brigades and an airmobile brigade of the Ukrainian army, a marine infantry brigade, two territorial defense brigades and a National Guard brigade in areas near the settlements of Voskresenka, Alekseyevka, Bogatyr, Komar and Volnoye Pole in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian army lost more than 160 personnel, two armored combat vehicles, six motor vehicles and three field artillery guns in that frontline area over the past 24 hours, it specified.

In addition, Russian forces destroyed an electronic warfare station of the Ukrainian army, it said.
Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr destroys over 50 Ukrainian troops in past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr destroyed more than 50 Ukrainian troops and an enemy ammunition depot in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup Dnepr units inflicted losses on formations of a mechanized brigade, a mountain assault brigade, two coastal defense brigades of the Ukrainian army and a territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Stepovoye and Lukyanovskoye in the Zaporozhye Region, Ponyatovka, Tokarevka and Sadovoye in the Kherson Region," the ministry said.

"As many as 50 [Ukrainian] military personnel, 10 motor vehicles and an ammunition depot were destroyed," the ministry said.
Russian forces strike Ukrainian workshop producing self-propelled artillery guns

Russian forces struck a Ukrainian workshop producing Bogdana self-propelled artillery systems and deployment sites of Ukraine’s armed formations and foreign mercenaries over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Operational/tactical aircraft, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces struck a workshop assembling Bogdana self-propelled artillery systems and also deployment areas of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 132 locations," the ministry said.
Russian air defenses destroy 74 Ukrainian UAVs, eight JDAM smart bombs over day

Russian air defense forces shot down 74 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and eight American-made JDAM smart bombs over the past day, the ministry reported.

"Air defense capabilities shot down eight JDAM guided aerial bombs and a rocket of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system of US manufacture and 74 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles," the ministry said.

Overall, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 662 Ukrainian warplanes, 283 helicopters, 56,944 unmanned aerial vehicles, 605 surface-to-air missile systems, 23,310 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,562 multiple rocket launchers, 24,791 field artillery guns and mortars and 35,394 special military motor vehicles since the start of the special military operation, the ministry reported.

Peruvian historical site vandalized with obscene graffiti in viral video. LIMA, Peru — A vandal defaced Chan Chan, a #UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Peru, with obscene graffiti over the weekend, the Ministry of Culture said Monday.

In a video that went viral, a young man wearing a backpack can be seen spray-painting a giant penis on a wall of this fortified complex that is more than 600 years old.

“This act constitutes a grave disrespect toward our history and cultural heritage, as well as a violation of the regulations that protect archaeological heritage sites,” the ministry said.

The vandal faces up to six years in prison and has not been identified.

Chan Chan was the site of the largest earthen architectural city in pre-Columbian America, according to the United Nations.

It once held temples, dwellings and storehouses, often decorated with abstract motifs.

Chan Chan reached its peak in the 15th century as a vast city that was home to about 30,000 people, and was 20 kilometres (12 miles) square.

It is located about 550 kilometres north of Lima near the coastal city of Trujillo, and has been a UNESCO site since 1986.

Along with the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu and the Sacred City of Caral-Supe, Chan Chan is one of the most beloved archaeological sites in Peru.

#Trump administration welcomes 49 white South Africans as refugees.

DULLES, Virginia — The Trump administration on Monday welcomed a small group of white South Africans as refugees, saying they face discrimination and violence at home, which the country’s government strongly denies.

The decision to admit the 49 people also has raised questions from refugee advocates about why the group should be admitted when the Trump administration has suspended efforts to resettle people who are fleeing war and persecution and have gone through years of vetting before coming to the United States.

The group from South Africa, including children holding small American flags, arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on a private charter plane and was greeted by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar.

“I want you all to know that you are really welcome here and that we respect what you have had to deal with these last few years,” Landau told the group in a hangar at the airport, many of them holding U.S. flags. “We respect the long tradition of your people and what you have accomplished over the years.”

President Donald Trump told reporters earlier Monday that he’s admitting them as refugees because of the “genocide that’s taking place.” He said that in post-apartheid South Africa, white farmers are “being killed” and he plans to address the issue with South African leadership next week.

That characterization is strongly denied by the South African government and has been disputed by experts in the country and even an Afrikaner group.

South Africa’s government says the U.S. allegations that the white minority Afrikaners are being persecuted are “completely false,” the result of misinformation and an inaccurate view of its country. It cited the fact that Afrikaners are among the richest and most successful people in the country and said they are among “the most economically privileged.”

Speaking at a business conference in Ivory Coast, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday that he spoke with Trump by phone recently and told him that his administration had been fed false information by groups who were casting whites as victims because of efforts to right the historical wrongs of colonialism and South Africa’s previous apartheid system of forced racial segregation, which oppressed the Black majority.

“I had a conversation with President Trump on the phone and he asked me, `What’s going on down there?’ and I told him that what you are being told by those people who are opposed to transformation back in South Africa is not true,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said he thought Trump “understood that.”

Afrikaners make up South Africa’s largest white group and were the leaders of the apartheid government, which brutally enforced racial segregation for nearly 50 years before ending it in 1994. While South Africa has been largely successful in reconciling its many races after apartheid ended, tensions between some Black political parties and some Afrikaner groups have remained.

Trump has promoted the allegation that white farmers in South Africa are being killed on a large scale because of their race as far back as 2018 during his first term.

Conservative commentators have promoted the allegation about a genocide against white farmers in South Africa, and South African-born Trump ally Elon Musk has posted on social media that some politicians in the country are “actively promoting white genocide.”

South Africa suffers from extremely high levels of violent crime and white farmers have been killed in rural Afrikaner communities. It has been a problem for decades. The government condemns those killings but says they are part of the country’s problems with crime.

“There is no data at all that backs that there is persecution of white South Africans or white Afrikaners in particular who are farmers,” South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said Monday. “White farmers get affected by crime just like any other South Africans who do get affected by crime. So this is not factual, it is without basis.”

The white South Africans’ arrival comes after Trump indefinitely suspended the refugee resettlement program -- which historically had widespread bipartisan support -- on his first day in office. A month later, he announced a plan to resettle white South African farmers and their families as refugees.

According to the U.S. Embassy in South Africa, applicants to this program have to be South African citizens who are of Afrikaner ethnicity or a member of a racial minority in South Africa, and they have to be able to show a history of or a fear of persecution.

Afrikaners are the descendants of mainly Dutch and French colonial settlers who first came to South Africa in the 17th century. There are around 2.7 million Afrikaners among South Africa’s population of 62 million, which is more than 80% Black.

The U.S. refugee program was created by Congress in 1980, and groups have sued to restart it after Trump’s order.

Traditionally, to qualify as a refugee, applicants must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution due to certain categories: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Refugees are distinct from asylum-seekers because refugees must be outside of the U.S. to qualify.

Once refugees arrive in the U.S., a network of resettlement agencies generally helps them settle in their new homes and they get 90 days of federal assistance for things like rent. The Episcopal Church’s migration service, however, is refusing a directive from the federal government to help resettle white South Africans granted refugee status, citing the church’s longstanding “commitment to racial justice and reconciliation.”

Santana reported from Washington and Magome in Johannesburg, and Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, contributed to this report.

Matthew Lee, Rebecca Santana And Mogomotsi Magome, The Associated Press

#Ukraine has been waiting for a ceasefire since May 12 and is ready to start negotiations with #Russia in Turkey on May 15, said Vladimir Zelensky in his Telegram channel.

"We are waiting for a full and lasting ceasefire tomorrow to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy," he wrote. "And I will be waiting for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's visit to Turkey on Thursday. Personally."

This statement came after US President Donald Trump called on Ukraine to immediately agree to the negotiations proposed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which could take place in Turkey on May 15. Prior to that, Zelensky conditioned negotiations with Moscow on the introduction of a 30-day cease-fire.

Putin, speaking to reporters in the Kremlin on the night of May 11, invited the authorities in Kiev to resume direct negotiations without preconditions interrupted in 2022. It is proposed to start the dialogue on May 15 in Istanbul.

Bomb targeting a vehicle carrying police killed 2 officers in northwest #Pakistan.

Pakistan — A powerful bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying police officers in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least two officers and injuring three others, police said.

The attack happened near a roadside open market in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a local police chief, Masood Khan, said.

He said the dead and wounded were transported to a nearby hospital.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, who often target security forces and civilians.

TTP is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021.

Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuaries and have even been living openly in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, which also emboldened the Pakistani Taliban.